2Hezekiah divided the priests and Levites into groups and he gave each group the work that they had to do. The priests had to sacrifice burnt-offerings and meal-offerings and the Levites had to help them with their work. They also had to thank God and praise Him at the gates of the temple of the Lord. 3The king gave some of his own animals for the burnt-offerings. He gave the burnt-offerings that they had to sacrifice in the morning and evening, and the burnt-offerings on the Sabbath days, the New-moon-feasts and other feasts. They did everything as it was written in the laws of Moses. 4Hezekiah told the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the priests and the Levites everything that they had to give so that the priests and the Levites could do what God wanted. 5When the Israelites heard what they had to do, they brought the first wheat that they had cut off, and the first wine, olive oil and honey. They brought a 10th of everything that they had cut off. They gave a lot and they also gave a 10th of everything they had. 6The Israelites and people of the towns of Judah also gave a 10th of their cattle, sheep and goats and they brought these to the temple with a 10th of everything that they gave to the Lord their God. They put it in heaps. 7They started bringing everything to the temple in the 3rd month and they did it until the 7th month. 8When Hezekiah and the officials came and they saw all the heaps of offerings, they praised the Lord and the people of Israel. 9Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites where all those things came from. 10The high-priest Azariah was from the Zadok family. He said to Hezekiah: ‘From the day that the people started to bring their offerings to the temple, we have had more than enough to eat and there is a lot of food left over, because the Lord has blessed his people. All these things in the heaps are left over.’
11Hezekiah told them to build store rooms at the temple and they did. 12The people did not stop bringing offerings, 10ths and holy_gifts to the temple. The Levite, Konaniah, had to see that they put everything in the right place and his brother Shimei helped him. 13The king and Azaziah, the chief of the temple, had chosen Konaniah and Shimei to do the work. They also chose Jehiel, Azaziah, Nahath, Asahel, Jerimoth, Jozabad, Eliel, Ismakiah, Mahath and Benaiah to be managers. 14The Levite, Kore, son of Imnah, was the guard at the eastern gate. He had to take the gifts that the people had decided to give to the Lord and he had to give to the priests the offerings that they had to get, and also the holy_gifts. 15Eden had to help him give out these gifts in the towns where the priests lived and Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah and Shekaniah also helped him. They gave them to the priests and Levites, for the old and the young people, 16for the priests and Levites who were 3 years old and older, whose names were written in the list of names and who had to come to the temple to do the work in their group every day. 17They wrote the names of the priests in the list of names and they wrote from which family they came. They also wrote the names of the Levites who were 20 years or older and they wrote in which groups they worked. 18They wrote the names of everyone in the priests' families on the list, and also the names of the babies, women, boys and girls. But only those who continued to consecrate themselves could work in the temple. 19There were priests who were descendants of Aaron outside every town who worked in the fields. The king chose men to go and give the gifts to these priests. They had to give these gifts to every priest or his son and to every Levite whose name was written in the list of names. 20Hezekiah told them to do it in all the towns of the land_of_Judah. He continued to do good things. He did things that were right, things that the Lord his God loved. 21He did everything with all of his heart, everything he wanted to do to serve his God, to work at the temple and to obey the laws and commandments of his God. The Lord was with Hezekiah, and it went well with him.
